Today, on the fourth anniversary of her passing, I want to honor the life of my grandmother, Kimberly Coulter-Casey. She was 62 when she passed away on September 3, 2021, in Everett, Washington. Born on April 7, 1959, in Muncie, Indiana, from the very beginning she lived with a strength and determination that defined her whole life.

She was preceded in death by her father, Phillip. At the time of her passing, she was survived by her mother Judy; her sisters, Lori and Michelle; her daughters, Jenny and Brandy; and those she raised and loved as her own, her granddaughters Selena and Dominique, her great-granddaughters Isabella and Sofia; and a close family friend, Daytona. She is also survived by the many people whose lives she touched and changed for the better. In the years since Kimberly's passing, both her mother Judy and sister Lori have also joined her.

My grandma was more than a title. She was a mother, a protector, a teacher, and a home. She raised not only her children but her grandchildren and others outside of the family, pouring her love into generation after generation. Her home was a place of truth and comfort. You knew you’d be cared for, you’d be loved, and you’d probably be fed too, because if there was one thing she loved, it was cooking and baking.

She always had the Food Network playing in the background, filling the house with the voices of chefs and bakers, especially if it was Rachel Ray or Paula Deen. Those shows became part of the rhythm of her home. If it wasn’t cooking shows, it was football, she especially loved her Seahawks.

She was bold and unapologetically honest. You always knew where you stood with her, and while that honesty could be sharp, it was always rooted in love. Her family was always woven into everything she did, even her jewelry shop carried the names of her great granddaughters, Bella and June Bug. It was just one of the many ways she made sure the people she loved were part of her daily life.

These four years without her have left an emptiness that can’t really be filled, but I see her everywhere. I see her in the recipes that remind me of her kitchen, in the excitement of a Seahawks game, and in the strength and honesty she instilled in me. Her presence is stitched into the ordinary moments, and that’s where I find her most.

Her legacy isn’t measured in years but in the lives she shaped. I carry her strength, her honesty, and her love with me every day, and in that way, she is never truly gone. She was my greatest teacher, my fiercest protector, and my truest friend. And though she is gone, the best parts of her live on in all of us, her family, her friends, and everyone else she poured her heart into.

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